Course DescriptionLooking to learn the ins and outs of the most versatile photo editing software in the world? Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard tool for digital post-production, and you are invited to begin applying its magic to your images.

This course starts right from the beginning with software orientation, tool location and function, and basic correction. Under the guidance of your instructor you will learn the building blocks of digital manipulation, from using layers and colour management, to photo restoration and special effects. Through focused assignments and one-on-one assessments you will learn to get the most out of your images.

Note: Educational discounts on Adobe Software are available to registered SPAO students. Ask your instructor for more details.

Students must have access to a laptop computer with Photoshop CS4 or CS5. Thirty-day trial versions of the software are available. This course is suited for basic level photographers that already have basic computing knowledge. Elementary Photoshop teaches fundamentals necessary for other SPAO courses and workshops. Enrolment is limited to ensure one-on-one attention.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

After days that seemed like weeks of fooling around on the computer, the first promotion inviting people to the first Thursday opening of Quit Your Job and also Let's Talk Art, was sent this evening. One person has already responded that he received it so the promo is actually making its way though the ionosphere.

Formatting is a little off here as I had to cut and paste but if you click on the link, you'll see how it actually looked going out this evening.

A new feature at the gallery is **LET'S TALK ART** held on the second Thursday of every month.
Michele LeCourtois and Tick Tock Tom lead the first talk. On the left, Michele answers questions from the audience.
Below, is one of Tick Tock Tom's sculptures.
Painter, Adam Davidson, and multi-media artist, Shannon Lee Mannion, will lead the talk on Thursday, April 12.
Things get under way at 7:00 pm sharp and run until 8:00 pm at which time people are welcome to tour the gallery.
Tea and cookies provided.

A larger-than-life robo-man sculpture by Tick Tock Tom greets patrons in the Front Room at the gallery.

Adam Davidson and his large canvas featured in the Front Room of the gallery.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Monet and his family settled into Giverny, France in 1883. The subsequent 40 years of his life were mostly spent painting the landscapes within a 2 mile radius of his famous Giverny home and gardens.

It was during this time that he painted his most famous series of paintings - Poplars, Haystacks, Mornings on the Seine, and of course the infamous Waterlilies (see my Giverny garden lens). In these series, Monet strove to capture his landscape subjects at different times of the day, atmospheric conditions (such as fog), and various seasons to create series of paintings with unique visual nuances.

The effects of the light would only last a few minutes each day so Monet would simultaneously work on canvases pulling out whichever one best suited the current light, color and seasonal conditions.

Branch of the Seine near Giverny at the morning, 1897 (Hiroshima Museum of Art, Hiroshima, Japan)

Knowing when to stop. oil on canvas. 30 x 48 inches. Price: $2200

Painting by Patrick John Mills

I have been painting for 20 years now. One of the artists that I love the most is Claude Monet. When I started painting I would look and read countless books about him. Certain images tattoo themselves into your mind. The above paintings by Claude Monet certainly have stayed inside me heart for many years.

I decided to stop this painting. I was just cleaning my brushes and adding paint to the canvas.

I felt I had managed to capture something. I was wishing to work more on the
painting.

Give more, Work more. Stuggle more. But the painting felt
correct and had results outside of myself.

It is odd for me to first put
white paint down on the canvas. White is opaque. But I started this painting as
a result of cleaning my brushes while painting on another large painting. So the
painting just developed. One could say that this painting was the left over
paint on my brushes and palette knife that just painted itself. I was not
thinking. Just painting. I think I am a better painter without using my brain.
haha.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

I felt I had managed to capture something. I was wishing to work more on the
painting.

Give more, Work more. Stuggle more. But the painting felt correct and had
results outside of myself.

It is odd for me to first put white paint down on the canvas. White is opaque. But I started this painting as a result of cleaning my brushes while painting on another large painting. So the painting just developed. One could say that this painting was the left over paint on my brushes and palette knife that just painted itself. I was not thinking. Just painting. I think I am a better painter without using my brain. haha.

Yellow painting. oil on canvas. 28 x 42 inches. Price: $1600

Painting by Patrick John Mills

Sorry for the title... very boring title. My brain is thinking in paint and
not words.

This I feel is one of the best paintings I have completed this year. I feel
there is something pure.